Michelle M. Sands, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Special Education

Department

Education

Ph.D., University of Illinois, Special Education
M.A., North Central College, Educational Leadership with Principalship
M.Ed., Elmhurst University, Early Childhood and Special Education

Background

Michelle Sands, Ph.D., completed her doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021 with a specialization in early childhood special education. She has spent most of the past 20 years in the field of early childhood education, working as a paraprofessional, blended classroom teacher, curriculum specialist, professional development specialist and assistant principal. Sands has worked in a variety of early childhood settings, including public schools, private childcare programs, Head Start programs and museum settings. Before her work at NIU, she spent two years as an assistant professor in the Department of Special and Early Childhood Education at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Research Interests

Sands' research interests include exploring the alignment and continuity of practices used to support children with disabilities and their families, specifically those that occur during the preschool and kindergarten years. She has a passion for learning about, and supporting, family participation in the education and special education processes of their children.. She has published articles in early childhood and special education journals on the topics of transition to kindergarten; parent and practitioner coaching; and cultural adaptations of interventions.

Classes

SESE 423/523 – Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education
SESE 424/524 – Methods and Strategies for Promoting Development and Teaching Infants, Toddlers and Young Children with Disabilities and Special Needs
SESE 426/526 – Working with and Supporting Families of Young Children with Disabilities and Special Needs

Publications

Journal Articles

Meadan, H., Chung, M., Sands, M., & Snodgrass, M. (2019). The cascading coaching model for supporting service providers, caregivers, and children. Journal of Special Education, 54(2), 113–125.

Chung, M., Meadan, H., Snodgrass, M., Hacker, R., Sands, M., Adams, N., & Johnston, S. (2020). Assessing the social validity of a telepractice training and coaching intervention. Journal of Behavioral Education, 29, 382-408.

Frantz, R., Douglas, S., Meadan, H., Sands, M., Bhana, N., & D'Agostino, S. (2020). Exploring the professional development needs of early childhood paraeducators and supervising teachers. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education.

Daczewitz, M., Meadan, H., Swanson, T., & Sands, M. (2020). Introducing preservice teachers to family-centered practices: A scoping review. Journal of Education and Training Studies.

McLeod, R., Hardy, J., & Sands, M.M. (2021). Preparation of early childhood special education personnel: Alignment with recommended practices. Early Childhood Education Journal.

Chung, M.Y., Lee, J.D., Meadan, H., Sands, M.M., & Haidar, B.S. (2021). Building professionals' capacity: The cascading coaching model. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions.

Sands, M.M., Monda-Amaya, L., & Meadan, H. (2021). Kindergarten redshirting: Implications for children with disabilities. Disabilities, 1(1), 30-46.

Sands, M. M., & Meadan, H. (2021). A successful kindergarten transition for children with disabilities: Collaboration throughout the process. Early Childhood Education Journal.

Sands, M. M., Meadan, H., Ramos-Torres, S., & Fanta, A. (2021). The cultural and linguistic adaptation of a caregiver-implemented naturalistic communication intervention. Early Childhood Education Journal.

Kossyvaki, L., Meadan, H., Cristescu, L., Alharbi, H., Sands, M. M., & Tuite, D. (2022). Telepractice parent-implemented training and coaching in rural areas in the UK: impact on children with autism and their mothers. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Meadan, H. Lee., J., Sands, M.M., Chung, M.Y., & Garcia-Grau, P. (2022). The Coaching Fidelity Scale (CFS): Development and evaluation of an observational measure of coaching fidelity. Infants & Young Children.

Meadan, H., Sands, M.M., & Chung, M.Y. (2023). Parent-implemented telepractice autism intervention: A case study of maintenance and generalization. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3): 1685.

Sands, M.M., & Meadan, H. (2023). Transition to kindergarten for children with disabilities: Parent and kindergarten teacher perceptions and experiences. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education.

Sands, M. M., McGuire, S., Meadan, H., DiPietro-Wells, R. & Hacker, R. (2023). Perceptions and experiences of military families who have children with disabilities and early intervention service providers that serve them. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Lee, J. D., Meadan, H. Sands, M.M., Terol, A. K., Martin, M., & Yoon, C. D. (2023). The Cultural Adaptations Checklist (CAC): Quality indicators for cultural adaptation of intervention and practice. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities. 1876

Chapters in an Edited Book

Sands, M. M., & McGuire, S. (2023). Setting the stage for the future: Family engagement throughout the transition to kindergarten. In M.M. Musyoka & G. Shen (Eds.), Meaningful and active family engagement: IEP, transition and technology integration in special education (pp. 187-208). IGI Global.

Reports

Sands, M. M. (2020). Examples of collaborations supporting inclusion in Illinois. Early CHOICES and Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Kremer, A. & Sands, M. M. (2021). Together we can all make inclusion work: An Illinois early childhood professional development provider community of practice.